The main thoroughfare is the eponymous Arlington Ridge Road, a mansion-lined boulevard that, due to its high elevation, offers views of Washington, D.C., and the surrounding areas.

A low rise above the adjoining terrain, Arlington Ridge ran from just above the city of Alexandria to a position northward directly across the Potomac from Georgetown.

[3] The Little Tea House Restaurant, located on Arlington Ridge Road, opened in 1920 and remained there until 1963, when it was demolished to make room for a high-rise apartment building.

During its heyday, many famous people ate at the restaurant, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, and Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Reminiscent of early American days with its brass and copper antiques, its shelves of rare old cook books, its tinkling Swiss music box, Allison's Little Tea House has been devoted for the past quarter of a century to the art of gracious eating.

Today, countless pedestrians walk by in their hilly, tree-lined neighborhood to reach the local shopping area of Pentagon City.

His mansion was demolished in 1965.Prospect Hill's vantage immediately overlooking the Pentagon (and the Washington, D.C., skyline beyond) makes it a popular location for photographers.

Prospect Hill's strategic elevation overlooking the Old Georgetown Road and the Green Valley made it an ideal location for a defensive post during the Civil War.

One of many forts build to safeguard the capital, it was subsequently relegated to an interior position by the construction of the defenses of Alexandria about 1/4 miles to the west.

To the south of the ridge, leading the 11th New York Zouave regiment, Col. Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth was charged with seizing Alexandria, Virginia.

Landing in what is now the area presently occupied by Arlington National Cemetery, Wilcox and his men quickly descended upon the Lee/Custis House, the estate owned by Gen. Robert E. Lee, who had resigned his commission from the Union Army only a few weeks earlier on April 20.

[10] Wilcox next advanced south and met up with Ellsworth's men to secure Arlington heights, completing the first successful campaign to recapture confederate territory during the war.

Prior to the construction of The Pentagon and Shirley Highway (later re-designated Interstate 395), Arlington Ridge Road was a major county thoroughfare that extended through to Rosslyn.

[16] Development accelerated as the U.S. entered World War II, and the fate of Arlington Ridge Road was sealed when it was shortened to its present length.

A final reduction change came about in the 1980s when the remaining stretch of Arlington Ridge Road was reduced from four lanes to two, accompanied by installation of standard 4-foot sidewalks and grass easements.

As a result of this decision, communities nationwide are now able to preserve the peace and tranquility of their own neighborhood streets thanks to the activism of the people of Arlington Ridge and Aurora Hills.

The opening sequence to the 1987 film No Way Out features a long aerial shot that begins on the National Mall, flies over The Pentagon, and then trails down Arlington Ridge Road to end at a house where Kevin Costner’s character is being held for questioning.